Where Does “Underachieving Cop” Fall on the Channing Tatum Believability Index?

Despite his real-life G.I. Joe looks, Abercrombie & Fitch model turned actor Channing Tatum has mined a surprisingly diverse career in Hollywood by straying outside the predictable genre, the action film. This year alone, for instance, he’s played a syrupy romantic who literally spells out sweet sentiments to his wife (Rachel McAdams) with pancake blueberries in The Vow, and he returns to theaters on Friday as a dim-witted undercover police officer in the comedy21 Jump Street, opposite Jonah Hill.

But while we’re impressed by Tatum’s eagerness to diversify, we’re not always convinced: some roles seem better suited to less, um, talented actors. So how will “cop attending high-school keg parties” fare? To help you answer that question—even before you see the movie—we’ve gathered highlights of Tatum’s unpigeon-hole-able career and applied a well-established entertainment-industry metric, the Channing Tatum Believability Index.

Fighting (2009)

Description: An N.Y.C. hustler who sells counterfeit Harry Potter books before turning to nasty underground fights for income and swindling single moms for romantic satisfaction.

Believability Score: 3. Sure, he has the physique for street-fighting, but how does a church-basement contender who smashes opponents’ faces into water fountains look so untouched after each match?

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Conclusions:While Channing Tatum is capable of playing a number of square-jawed characters, he is most convincing in self-effacing roles, dramatic supporting parts opposite accomplished actors, and over-the-top scenarios that require him to emote minimally and/or do tricks across car hoods. Channing Tatum is least convincing in 1930s garb and schmaltzy romances, and, most important, he should never play a character named after Jerry Seinfeld’s stingy uncle again.